​ePatientFinder raises $8M to use algorithms to match patients to clinical trials

ePatientFinder has wrapped up an $8.2 million Series B round, giving it an injection of funds at a time when it is working to expand the reach of its clinical trial enrollment platform. The system is designed to make it easier for physicians to identify clinical trials that could benefit their patients.

Austin, TX-based ePatientFinder turned to an unidentified healthcare technology investor syndicate for the funding, which moves the total raised by the company toward $11 million. ePatientFinder will funnel the money into the development of Clinical Trial Exchange, a platform it has developed to put its pharma, medical device and CRO clients in touch with a network of physicians and the patients they represent.

Armed with the $8.2 million, ePatientFinder intends to expand that pool of patients. “The additional financing will allow us to further expand patient access to available treatment options through our platform,” Tom Dorsett, ePatientFinder CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.

The extent to which ePatientFinder succeeds in this mission will depend, in part, on its ability to persuade physicians that its platform offers value to them and their patients. Many of the features of the platform are intended to remove factors that could stop a physician from referring a patient to a clinical trial.

As it stands, some physicians are simply unaware of the trials that are available, an issue the platform tries to address by sending out details of studies that are relevant to their patient populations. These alerts are in a “clear, concise and consistent format,” according to ePatientFinder. Such repackaging of study protocol information is a key idea behind other clinical trial enrollment platforms, such as the more patient-orientated TrialReach.

ePatientFinder is looking to use algorithms to perform a lot of the legwork involved in matching patients to clinical trials, specifically by sifting through electronic health records, patient-reported data and point-of-care information. With matching algorithms and notifications informing physicians of available trials, ePatientFinder then wants to ensure they follow up on this information. To this end, ePatientFinder serves as the payor for appointments to discuss clinical trials.

The company last raised money in February 2015, at which time it added $2.6 million to its coffers. Since then, the firm, which claims to work with multiple top 10 pharma companies and CROs, has begun the process of expanding its provider network, an initiative that will now gain fresh impetus.

- read the release

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